Herpes simplex (HSV) infection is the most important viral disease of the eye in the Western world. Recently type 2 HSV has been reported as the cause of eye infections in human neonates as well as adults, and this infection had led to visual impairment. The present investigations was carried out to make a critical assessment of the role of type 2 HSV in human ocular infections, and to conduct, in experimental animals (rabbits), a comprehensive study of the pathogenesis and the nature of ocular infections by type 2 HSV in both the newborn and adult rabbit.